“I was terrified I was going to get the axe one way or another,” Colin Gale told the jury.

He went on to tell the court how he and Stewart Robertson had taken Mr Manning’s body into the countryside and hid it.

The jury found him not guilty of murder. They instead found him guilty of manslaughter with loss of control by majority verdict.

He had earlier pleaded guilty to preventing the lawful burial of a body.

Speaking at Gale’s sentencing at Lewes Crown Court last year, Shani Barnes told Gale: “You killed Mark Manning in a short momentary act of violence when you lost control.

“But you regained your composure enough to cover up what you had done by calling upon Stewart Robertson, who relied on you, to help you dispose of Mark’s body, get rid of the weapon and the mobile phones and then lie to Mark’s family about his whereabouts and misdirect the police.”

In a statement after the sentencing Mr Manning’s son Kane said: “My father was a hero, he saved many people’s lives around the world with his mine clearance work.

“I had an amazing bond with my father and I find it hard knowing my dad will never be around to see me grow up.”

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